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CSU-ERFA News & Views
Please note that the summaries of news items posted on this page
do not necessarily represent the official positions of CSU-ERFA
or its affiliates. Links contained within the summaries may
take you to the original news sources. CSU-ERFA is not
responsible for the content of linked articles and cannot
guarantee the accuracy or completeness of those articles.
May 2012

Youth
would be an ideal state if it came a little later in
life. ~Herbert Asquith |

The
CSU-ERFA Grant Awards
Committee will begin accepting accepting applications for the the 2012-13
CSU-ERFA Grant Awards Program on May 21 2012. A total of
$5,000 is expected to be available for the 2012-13
program cycle. Note that this year the application deadline is
December 17, 2012. This is earlier than in
previous grant cycles.
More
information about the program, links to program
guidelines, and links to application forms can be
found on our
member
services page.
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April 2012

Retire from work, but not from life. ~M.K. Soni |

California Watch reported today (April 27,
2012) that Cal State Fullerton will spend $300,000
to remodel the El Dorado Ranch residence of incoming
campus president, Mildred Garcia. According to
the article the CSU Board of Trustees awarded Garcia
a 10% pay raise (the maximum allowable under Board
rules) as she transfers from CSU Dominguez Hills to
CSU Fullerton. In addition, to her $324,500
annual salary, she receives a $12,000 annual car
allowance, and the use of the El Dorado Ranch
property.
According to the article, the El Dorado Ranch
property located near downtown Fullerton is assessed
at $3.4 million. The 3.9 acre parcel includes
tennis courts as well as the eight-bedroom, 5,800
sq. ft. two-story residence.
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The Sacramento Bee and
the Los Angeles Times reported today
(April 23, 2012) that the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission has filed suit against former
CalPERS CEO Federico Buenrostro Jr. and former
CalPERS board member Alfred J.R. Villalobos alleging
that the two provided Apollo Global Management of
New York, NY with fabricated documents. The
suit alleges that these documents were provided to
Apollo to assure the company that placement fees of
more than $20 million that were paid to Villalobos
and his two companies, ARVCO Capital Research and
ARVCO Financial Ventures of Zephyr Cove, NV had been
approved by CalPERS investment staff.
The
suit attempts to recover the placement fees that
were obtained by Villalobos and Buenrostro Jr. using
these allegedly false documents, as well as
additional penalties.
In a
press release issued shortly after the SEC
announcement, current CalPERS CEO Anne Stausboll
and CalPERS Board President Rob Feckner condemned
the alleged misconduct outlined in the SEC complaint
and they praised the SEC for recognizing the
severity of the wrongdoing.
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An article by Erica Perez in California Watch
(April 6, 2012) reports that the CSU is
considering a two-tiered pricing approach for
remedial and high-demand classes. Under this
plan more of these classes would be offered through
the extended-education program, which receives no
state support. Students taking such courses
through extended education would be required to pay
the full cost of these courses, and would not be
able to use Cal Grants or State University Grants to
pay for them.
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We recently learned that one of
our members purchased an insurance policy that was
purported to be a "CSU-Cancer Insurance" policy.
These policies, which pay cash directly to a policy
holder diagnosed with cancer, are NOT endorsed by
the California State University System.
For
most CSU retirees there is little or no need for
such a policy. Almost all medical and
pharmaceutical expenses related to cancer treatment
for CSU-ERFA members will be covered by the member's
regular medical plans (for most of our members this
either will be through Medicare and a supplement to
Medicare policy, or through a Medicare Advantage
program) which are provided by Cal-PERS.
Since
CalPERS retirement income continues regardless of
the retiree's health status, there is no need for
cash to replace lost income. CSU-ERFA members
are urged to be wary of insurance salespeople
selling such "single disease" policies, particularly
if they suggest that the policy is somehow
associated with the CSU.
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March 2012

O, blest retirement! friend to life's decline -
How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these,
A youth of labor with an age of ease!
~Oliver Goldsmith |

Volunteers Needed for
Study of Pre- and Post-Retirement Professional
Development
Thomas Chan, a doctoral student at Claremont
Graduate University, is undertaking a study of the
connections between retired professors' past
academic activities (teaching, research, advising)
and current life. He states that little is
known about the issue. He is interested in
understanding how past vocational activities and the
current lives of retirees correlate. He hopes the
results will help
improve the quality of life of other retirees.
CSU-ERFA members can participate by going to the
following web site,
http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/789305/Retired-Academics-Development-Survey
The survey should take about 15-20 minutes. Chan
states that all results are confidential. Any
identifying information collected such as name,
email address, or IP address will never be
associated with
your survey response, and that the survey is
completely voluntary, with no penalties associated
with choosing not to participate.
Chan has a Masters degree and is a Ph.D. student in
positive development psychology at Claremont.
His advisors are Drs. Jeanne Nakamura and Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, co-directors of the Quality of
Life Research Center at Claremont Graduate
University.
If there are any questions or concerns about the
study, Chan may be contacted at
thomas.chan@cgu.edu.
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February 2012

One of the problems of
retirement is that it gives you more time to read
about the problems of retirement.
~Author unknown. |

We
have received the sad news that Max Norton
(Stanislaus) passed away on February 21st.
Max was formerly a
member of the CSU-ERFA Executive Committee and was
very active in that capacity as well as in the
formation of the CSU-ERFA Foundation and as Chair of
the Grant Awards Committee for many years
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Important Reminder re
Medicare: California State University
retirees, including those in the Faculty Early
Retirement Program, are required by CalPERS to sign
up for Medicare Parts A and B within six months of
their 65th birthday. This is not done
automatically. You may sign up either by
visiting a Social Security Office or by using the
online signup procedure. (Note that the
online signup can be used only if you are not
simultaneously applying for Social Security
retirement benefits.) You may sign up as early
as 90 days before your 65th birthday. Note
that you must sign up for Medicare Parts A and B
even if you don't plan to collect Social Security
retirement benefits until later.
Do not
sign up for Medicare part D. Once your
Medicare Parts A & B coverage begins, you should
contact CalPERS to enroll in a Supplement to
Medicare plan or a Medicare Advantage plan (note
that CalPERS Medicare Advantage plans are not
available in all areas). The Supplement to
Medicare plans are covered by your CalPERS health
benefits. The Medicare Advantage plans are
covered by CalPERS in cooperation with Medicare.
Both
the traditional Supplement to Medicare plans and the
Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug
benefits that match or exceed those of Medicare Part
D, so it's important that you don't sign up for
Medicare Part D.
If you
choose a traditional CalPERS Supplement to Medicare
plan, in most cases you will be reimbursed by
CalPERS for all or part of your Medicare Part B
premiums. (This depends on the number of your
family members receiving CalPERS health benefits and
your income level.)
CSU-ERFA
members who need advice or further information about
signing up for Medicare may call CSU-ERFA
headquarters [(818)
718-7996] for assistance.
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CSU-ERFA Members Alfred B.
Evans (Fresno) and David Maciel
(Dominguez Hills) have been awarded research grants
from the CSU-ERFA Foundation during the 2011-12
grant cycle following approval of the
Grant
Awards Committee recommendations at the February
15, 2012 meeting of the CSU-ERFA Executive
Committee.
Evans
was awarded $3,200 for his research "Protest in
Russia: Extending or Replacing the Frame."
Maciel received an $800 grant to support his study
"The Contemporary Cinema of Mexico (1965-2012).
The
CSU-ERFA Grant Awards program is open to members in
good standing seeking support for their research,
scholarly, and creative activities. See our
Member
Services page for guidelines and additional
information.
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Recently,
some emeriti faculty found that they were not
covered by the CSU system-wide license for the use
of SPSS, the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences, now in widespread use both in
corporate America and in academia, as a retired
faculty member from CSU San Bernardino learned when
he attempted to obtain the software from his campus.
CSU-ERFA
brought this issue to the attention of Associate
Vice Chancellor Ron Vogel, who worked to have the
CSU contract with SPSS extended to include emeriti
faculty members who need to use SPSS in their
research. These efforts were successful; and,
emeriti and retired faculty members now are eligible
to use SPSS under the same terms and conditions as
other faculty members on their respective CSU
campuses.
CSU-ERFA Executive Director Don Cameron said,
"although probably a small number of CSU retired
faculty utilize SPSS, those affected by the recent
CSU action have been upset and vocal about the loss
of access to this valuable tool in their research
efforts. We should commend Associate Vice
Chancellor Ron Vogel and others at the Chancellor's
Office who have responded quickly and positively on
this issue."
The extension of the use of SPSS to include
retired/emeriti faculty covers the period through
the end of the present contract with SPSS. Efforts
are
under way to include emeriti in the next contract.
SPSS is one of
several popular suites of software used to apply
statistical analysis to quantitative data, such as
surveys and demographic/economic data.
Depending on the the modules needed, the license fee
for individual private use can range from several
hundred to several thousand dollars per year.
However, under Board of Trustees policies, emeriti
faculty members are considered continuing members of
the faculty at their home campuses. Thus, the
extension of the system-wide site license to include
use by emeriti faculty members is in accord with CSU
policy.
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January 2012

One of the problems of
retirement is that it gives you more time to read
about the problems of retirement.
~Author unknown. |

The
San Francisco Chronicle reported today
(January 14, 2012) that State
Senator Leland Yee (D, San Francisco) has introduced
a bill, SB967, to limit the pay of California State
University executives. Under the Yee bill, CSU
executives would not be able to receive pay raises
within two years of a tuition increase or a year in
which there was no increase in the CSU budget.
The Yee bill also would limit the pay of newly hired
CSU executives. Their pay could not exceed the
pay of their predecessors by more than 5%.
A bill
introduced earlier in the current session, SB755, by
State Senator Ted Lieu (D, Torrance) would limit the
pay of CSU campus presidents to 150% of the pay of
the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.
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November 2011

Don't play too much golf. Two rounds
a day are plenty. ~Harry Vardon |

The Los Angeles Times reported on Nov.
21, 2011 that the California Supreme Court
ruled unanimously that "health benefits for
government retirees may not be eliminated if state
and local governments had clearly promised workers
those benefits." This ruling grew out of a
2007 Orange County case, where the county had
attempted to revamp the health care benefits for its
retirees to save money. The revised benefit
program would have caused the health plan premiums
for county retirees to increase substantially.
The
case now goes back to the federal appeals court for
further adjudication.
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We have received the
following information from CalPERS regarding changes
to pharmacy benefits for CalPERS Health Plan members
that will take place on January 1, 2012. Some
changes apply to all people in CalPERS health plans.
Others apply only to the CalPERS self-funded PPO
plans. Please read this information carefully.
If you
have any questions or problems with your pharmacy
benefits, please contact CalPERS first.
However, if you are unable to resolve the problem
and you are a CSU-ERFA member do not hesitate to
call CSU-ERFA headquarters for assistance.
Press Release
November 1, 2011
External Affairs Branch
(916) 795-3991
Robert Udall Glazier, Deputy Executive Officer
Brad Pacheco, Chief, Office of Public Affairs
Contact: Bill Madison, Information Officer
pressroom@calpers.ca.gov
Pharmacy Benefit Changes for CalPERS Health Plan
Members in 2012
SACRAMENTO, CA
– Beginning January 1, 2012, CalPERS members will
see a few changes in their health plan pharmacy
benefits approved by the CalPERS Board of
Administration earlier this year.
One change is a “member pays the difference”
requirement. Under this new rule, when a doctor
prescribes a brand name drug – and a U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) approved generic
equivalent is available – the member will pay the
difference between the costs of the brand name and
the generic drug. The member will also have to make
the generic drug co-payment.
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To use a hypothetical example, a doctor might write
a prescription for a brand name drug for which a
generic drug equivalent is available. The plan cost
of a 30-day supply of the brand name drug is $100
and a 30-day supply of the generic drug is $15. The
member preferring to use the brand name drug will
pay the $85 difference plus the applicable $5
co-payment. The total cost to the member will be
$90, versus $5, had the member selected the generic
drug. A member may obtain an exception to the
“member pays the difference” requirement if the
prescribing physician provides thorough
documentation that the member must use a brand
medication and not the generic equivalent.
Another change is that the co-payment for retail
pharmacy purchases of brand name drugs will increase
by $5. Furthermore, the co-payment for 90-day mail
order prescriptions of brand name drugs will be
standardized at double the co-payment of a 30-day
retail subscription; this means that members can
receive a 90-day supply of a maintenance medication
through the mail for the same price of a 60-day
supply purchased at a pharmacy. There will be no
increase in the co-payment for generic drugs bought
at retail pharmacies or through the mail.
CalPERS Board members approved the increase in its
members’ share of pharmacy benefits due in large
part to the fact that CalPERS is below the median
copayment for preferred drugs. In addition, the
employer share of pharmacy costs has risen over the
past several years, while the member share has
decreased. The last CalPERS pharmacy benefits
co-payment increase was in 2001. The new co-payment
structure will result in an alignment that brings
CalPERS portion of pharmacy benefit costs to about
half of where they were when the last co-payment
increase occurred.
In June, the CalPERS Board of Administration awarded
CVS Caremark the contract as the new Pharmacy
Benefits Manager (PBM) for CalPERS self-funded
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. CVS
Caremark will replace the current PBM, Medco, in
January 2012. PPO members will have a new option of
obtaining 90-day supplies of maintenance medications
at a CVS retail pharmacy. CVS Caremark’s
“Maintenance Choice Program” allows a member to
enjoy same-day prescription availability and to talk
face-to-face with a pharmacist while paying a low
mail-order co-payment. More information on CVS
Caremark and the transition of PBM services is
available online at
www.caremark.com/calpers.
CalPERS is the largest purchaser of public employee
health benefits in California, and the second
largest public purchaser in the nation after the
federal government. CalPERS provides health benefits
to more than 1.3 million State and public agency
active and retired members at an annual cost of
nearly $7 billion. For more information on CalPERS,
please visit
www.calpers.ca.gov.
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Dated: 11-01-2011
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October 2011

Q. How many retirees
does it take to change a light bulb?
A. Only one, but it
might take him or her two or three days. ~Author
unknown. |

CSU-ERFA State Council approves
Executive Director search. Under CSU-ERFA
policy a search for the position of Executive
Director must be held at least once every four
years. The CSU-ERFA State Council approved the
position announcement for this office at its October
15, 2011 meeting in San Jose.
The
consideration of applications for this position will
begin on January 2, 2012. Anyone interested in
applying for this opening should read the position
announcement, which is available
here.
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